The Latest: Norway has had ‘vague’ tip on mosque shooter

People gather to show support, outside the mosque Islamic Cultural Centre in Oslo, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019. One person was shot and lightly injured at a mosque in a western suburb of the capital, Oslo on Saturday. The Oslo Police Department said on Twitter that the shooting took place Saturday afternoon in Baerum. It said a suspect was in custody and no one else is thought to have been involved. (Fredrik Hagen /NTB scanpix via AP)

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The head of Norway’s domestic security agency says officials had received a “vague” tip a year ago about the suspected gunman in Saturday’s Oslo mosque shooting, but it was not sufficient to act because officials had no information about any “concrete plans” of attack.

Hans Sverre Sjoevold told a news conference Monday that the agency receives many tips from worried people every day and the information “didn’t go in the direction of an imminent terror planning.”

He added there was no reason to change the overall threat assessment for Norway.

A suspected gunman was arrested Saturday after he entered an Oslo mosque waving weapons. Police said several shots were fired and one person was slightly injured, but the suspect was held down by others in the mosque. The suspect has also been tied to the slaying of his stepsister.

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A suspected gunman accused of an attempted terrorist attack on an Oslo mosque and separately killing his teenage stepsister appeared in court Monday for a hearing, but his defense lawyer said he “will use his right not to explain himself for now.”

Unni Fries declined to comment on Norwegian media reports that the suspect was inspired by shootings in New Zealand, where a gunman killed 51 people in March, and on Aug. 3 in El Paso, Texas, which left at least 22 dead.

Her client was arrested Saturday after he entered the Al-Noor Islamic Center in Baerum, an Oslo suburb. Police said several shots were fired but did not specify what type of weapon was used. One person was slightly injured before people inside the mosque held the suspect until police arrived on the scene.

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